What Matters Most
I was all set to write about Thanksgiving. Then turned my attention to luxury brands and how they differentiate or don’t, diminish and dilute, or distill and distinguish. Studying them has been a passion of mine given the dearth of anything resembling high-end brands in our industry. I will write about this topic but not today.
Maybe it was time to follow-on from my last post, and announce the next in our series of new and deeper Outsell intelligence coverage which published yesterday in the Outsell Doorway — about Construction & Property, the third in our series of 22 deeper segment analyses now in market with more to come the first half of 2025.
Then there was the topic of private equity owners and their behavior. I’ve long written about smart money and dark money, most recently about 2023 being their 2008–9 with deal flow now starting to open up. But still the pencils are sharpened, paper-clip purchases on hold and the squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, on costs as they wring every dime out of their playbook awaiting an exit now late in coming. Honestly the stories I could tell from our day-to-day dialog with CEOs is enough to make your head spin and so many from just this week.
But then I took note of the craziness in so many facets of leadership. Just this week:
- President Biden pardons his son
- President Elect Trump on and off again with his appointments.
- France’s government falls
- South Korea’s president faces impeachment
- Intel’s CEO steps down
- Ukraine’s leader signals he’s open to negotiations
- José Andrés amazing World Central Kitchen pulls out of Gaza
But yesterday?? I lost all my mojo about any topic because I couldn’t get United Healthcare’s CEO out of my mind. I am sad about this. Anything about any of these topics or any others feels ‘off’ today.
A CEO on his way to investor day shot down in plain sight on a street and in a location so many of us have walked so many times. No one takes a CEO job thinking they’re going to take a bullet. Sure we hang up our spurs, manage succession, sometimes get unceremoniously dumped in front of god, the media, and everybody. But this? There are no words.
So, I would simply like to thank every leader today and ask everyone who reads this post to remember Mr. Thompson, say a prayer for his family, and consider our priorities in life and what matters most — health — family — love. This is a time for a moment of silence and an extra hug for those we care about. May peace, joy, and happiness be with you this holiday season. God knows we need more of it.